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MSNBC: Toyota Prius proving to be hotter hybrid ride

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by ericst, Aug 23, 2004.

  1. ericst

    ericst Junior Member

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    Head-turning gas-electric outsells Honda's staid version

    By Greg Schneider
    The Associated Press
    Updated: 12:25 a.m. ET Aug. 23, 2004

    The Toyota Prius, a gas-electric hybrid, is so popular there's a six-to-eight-month waiting list to get one at Koons Tysons Toyota. Across the street at Rosenthal Honda, the rival Honda Civic Hybrid is in ready supply -- 11 cars sat in the sun on a recent morning.

    The Prius and Civic have similar new technologies, so it's not just fuel efficiency that's causing drivers to flock to Toyota's hybrid. "The Prius is a fashion statement," said Art Spinella, a consultant with CNW Marketing Research who surveys car-buying trends. "It looks different. Other people know the driver is driving a hybrid vehicle. It clearly makes a bigger statement about the person than does the Civic, which basically looks like a Civic."

    (To link to the full story, click here.)
     
    #1 ericst, Aug 23, 2004
  2. pkjohna

    pkjohna Member

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    Isn't that our very own Mr. Kash getting some press time?
     
    #2 pkjohna, Aug 23, 2004
  3. jkash

    jkash Member

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    Yes it is. I also posted this article last night from the Washington Post. The author called me. He found me through my website. I did speak about other reasons to own a Prius, but his article was about how the Prius was outselling the Civic because it was different.

    Anyway, it's kind of fun to see my name in the Washington Post.

    Jeff
     
    #3 jkash, Aug 23, 2004
  4. rflagg

    rflagg Member

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    Not only in the Washington post, but front page no less! A co-worker brought me in a copy of it to show me the article. :)

    -m.
     
    #4 rflagg, Aug 23, 2004
  5. jkash

    jkash Member

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    I guess I have to try and find a copy of the Washington Post today. It's not every day you get mentioned on the front page of one of the leading papers in the US.

    Jeff
     
    #5 jkash, Aug 23, 2004
  6. Danny

    Danny Admin/Founder
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    Nice job, Jeff! Congrats!

    No PC plug? :lol:
     
    #6 Danny, Aug 23, 2004
  7. bookrats

    bookrats New Member

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    That's interesting -- I hadn't realized that the Honda hybrid sales weren't also maxed out (there have been some local Seattle articles recently saying that while there isn't a waiting line, the Civic Hybrids are doing very well.)

    And I think there's some truth to the claim that people buy a Prius because it looks cool -- or at least, cooler than a Civic. :) Danny made a point some time back that Honda's mainstream cars tend to look pretty staid -- late 90s "old school". (Obviously, I am excepting the Element from this list.)

    Surprised they haven't published an article about people like me -- folks who would buy a Prius over a Honda hybrid because I think the Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive is much cooler than the "mild hybrid" system for the Hondas.

    I can just see it on the cover of the Post's Motor section now:

    [align=center:9a4c5cecf6]Geeks Prefer Prii[/align:9a4c5cecf6]
     
    #7 bookrats, Aug 24, 2004
  8. hdrygas

    hdrygas New Member

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    NPR had a short piece on morning edition that said the same thing. Prius is way cool and makes a statement. All true.
     
    #8 hdrygas, Aug 24, 2004
  9. bookrats

    bookrats New Member

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    And it can be found on the NPR website at this link.
     
    #9 bookrats, Aug 24, 2004
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